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I have finally gotten the notes down on Good People. I must have practiced the first two measures a couple hundred times. (My husband said it was more like a thousand, so I am not sure.) Anyway, I still play it very very slowly - so now to work on the speed.

Don't worry too much about speed at this point. You will find that it takes many fewer repetitions if you never make errors. By that I mean if you play so slowly that you never hit a wrong note then you will not have to "unlearn" negative muscle memory (errors). Slowly means however slow it takes. I've played things where you could take a nap bewteen notes....but that is preferable to playing the wrong note. Accuracy first, then speed. The goal is to learn how to play in a relaxed, fluid manner, not to finish this piece just so you can move to the next.

Thanks for that post Jim. It wasn't aimed at me, but I've been applying the correct notes not speed since I read it and it's helping.

I'm working on "What can I share" on page 42 as of yesterday. I like the fact that it's taking a week for me to get through two pages. I'm still having a wee bit of trouble with the G7. I tend to hit an extra key with my 4th finger once in awhile so I'm working on being able to hit that chord smoothly. (little hands.. lol) I found that if I pull my hand back and hit the keys more on the ends I can do it smoothly. Too far forward and I start hitting the other keys.

Also still on page one of the Jazz course. LOL I think I might be on that one for awhile.

I started page 45 today (left hand version of The Saints Go Marching.) My timing is terrible. LOL F chord seems easy to do, probably due to my over practice of the G7 chord. LOL...

Still on page one of the Jazz course. It's starting to sound like a real song now. Just have to polish timing, then learn to change it up a bit. I'm making good progress!

I did notice something odd today. My pinky on my left I hit with the side flat, whereas my pinky on the right I hit on the tip. I know that I'm still battling the flying high pinky on my left side. Even as I type I can see the difference. Is this an issue? Should I try to change how I use the left?

I'm not a teacher, but I believe, with the exception of your thumbs, all fingers should usually be striking on the "fleshy pads." (Sorta just below the tips is the way I'd describe it)

Ask yourself, is your left pinky striking on its side because it might be weak or because of tension? That would not be unusual. In which case it might be better to try and play it on the pad in order to strengthen it over time.

Yes I do think it's very weak. That pinky had surgery on it about three times when I was a kid and it's definately lagging behind. I will practice watching it and keeping it hitting on the tip. Any ideas of a pinky exercise (hit all keys with pinky or something?) that I could put into my daily practice?

Your right hand looks a little collapsed, Becca, and you seem rather close to the keyboard. On a piano with 88 keys you'd cover both ends of your keyboard with opposite thumbs. Do you have enough room for that?

Do you use the side of your pinky whether you're playing chords or single notes? It's more common in chord playing but it's bad form if your hand is 'normal'. Balancing a coin on the back of your hand while playing is not a good idea but it looks like a coin would slide off your right hand. It shouldn't.

Getting back to your flying high pinky - don't try too hard to keep it low but spend time each day practising playing without lifting your fingers off the keys. Start with your RH fingers on C to G and play C slowly a couple of times without your thumb losing contact with the key then try the other fingers before going to LH. Your pinky may lift a little as you play your fourth finger, don't worry about it.

In fast runs the pinky isn't used much but in an Alberti bass it may benefit from a little extra height (and wrist action) to compensate for its weakness.

It might be worth finding someone who could check your playing position in person.

K this isn't the greatest picture (son has no patience LOL) and it doesn't show it really good but hopefully it's enough.C chord

I'm learning some of the things that I was doing wrong while self-teaching and one of them involves sitting at the keyboard. If you sit too close then your arms don't have room to move. Also, when you play to the left or right of center you should feel free to lean slightly to the left or right. Are you playing below middle C with both hands? It looks like maybe your right arm is cramped trying to bring the hand to the left, and that may be why you are twisting or tilting your wrist to get over there.

Oh ignore how close I am and my right hand. I had to squish in close and kinda turn so that my son could get behind me and take a picture. I normally sit further away.

Richard: I'm not sure if it collapses to the side on single notes. I'll watch for that tonight and report back tomorrow. I will try the finger exercises on both hands. I've tried the other methods (relaxing before each key, changing finger/hand positions etc..) and all to no avail, so here's to hoping!

Keystring: I had no idea I could lean. LOL. I will try that for sure. Going up and down the keyboard has been uncomfortable trying to do that straight. LOL

I forgot to see if my finger collapes.. LOL I'll try to remember for tomorrow. I did try lifting each finger slowly while keeping the others on the keys relaxed. Very tough to do! My left hand just shook trying to do it. Very very weak. I'll be keeping that exercise up for a bit that is for sure!

Practice was short and difficult today. I hurt my back at work, am on meds for it and light duty for two weeks. I can only sit for about five minutes max before I have to get up and move. Oh well, lots of mini breaks and short practices for the next little while!

I'm nearing the end of book one, starting on 'Have yourself a merry little Christmas' (should have a rough idea by Christmas.. lol). 'Good people' is the one I had most trouble with for some reason. But great book and enjoying it, looking forward to grappling with book two.

Well, I've been working on my finger exercises everyday now. It is helping but its sloooowww. That's okay though. I'm still working on Saints go Marching (I'm going to hate that tune by the time I'm done LOL.) Switching hands shows me how advanced my left is to my right so I've been doing more practice on the right to get them up to speed. I've also slowed down my tempo greatly to work on better finger placement (the F chord still feels unsure to me) and better timing.

I added Fabers back in just so I had something easy to work on to relive the frustration/tension of it all. It's making practice more enjoyable.

Anyone else feel like they've gotten stuck on a spot like this? I know I'm improving but man it's like time has slowed or something....

There are some very high stumbling blocks on the way, but keep plugging away.Seeing people on YouTube breezing through classic pieces, then saying they have only been playing three months is a bit of a kick in the ******s , maybe should be taken with a pinch of salt though...

I have a question or two. I'm having some difficulty going from C to F to G7. So I would like to find something (a song maybe?) to work on additionally with those in it. However looking up G7 is not so easy. It looks like to me that G7 is actually G V7 and not written as G7 in Alfreds.

So am I correct? It's G V7?

Also any suggestions for an extra song with those three chords in it relatively simple? (I'd prefer not to have to buy another whole book just for one song.)

What fingering are you using? In LH I use 5-3-1 for C (CEG), 5-2-1 for F (CFA) and 5-2-1 for G7 (BFG) and in RH 1-2-4 for C, 1-3-5 for F and 1-3-4 for G7.

The chord name is G 7 (G seventh) but in Roman numerals it's V7 (dominant seventh).

If you want to practise the LH chord changes by playing a melody on top or the RH by singing on top pretty much any 12-bar rock/blues will do. Heartbreak Hotel, Don't Be Cruel, Johnny B. Goode, Tutti Frutti, Evangeline, etc.

If you want to stick with just C and F you could try Chuck Berry's Memphis, Tennessee or if you're a Pulp Fiction fan, You Never Can Tell.

It's my right hand for the G7. Doesn't want to do it, especially if I'm doing any chord in the left. LOL. I was using the fingering in the book (no idea right now, just got off 12 hour shift.) I'll try yours tomorrow.

Thanks for the song ideas. All of those sound good. (reading chords are easy, making my right hand switch between f and g7 is a whole different story!)